Green Ore Compost

[David Nicholson]

Some time ago Paul Cumbleton posted a pic of the potting compost used at Wisley in one of his Wisley Logs and indicated that it was manufactured by a firm in Wells, Somerset. I made contact with the suppliers who told me that they had very few retail outlets out of Somerset and concentrated on the bulk horticultural and sports fields  markets but I could collect some from their works if I would like some. It looked very good stuff and I have been promising myself a trip up to Wells (about an hour and a half drive for me) for some time.

I went yesterday and collected four x 25Kg bags of JI no. 2-the company also manufactures JI seed, No.1, and No. 3. It really is excellent stuff and if I were to be short of something to have for dinner then a plateful of this would go down a treat

The compost is extremely friable and takes on a rich browny/red colour from the loam used to make it. It is difficult to show it in a picture but below are pics of the Green Ore and in comparison one of the compost I currently use which, I sometimes feel has enough humous but very little loam. I shall make a point of more regular trips to Wells in the future.

The name of the manufacturer is F A SMITH, Horticultural Works, Green Ore, Nr. Wells, Somerset Tel. 01761 241378.

For friends overseas, who may not be aware, the "recipes" for the range of John Innes composts were evolved many years ago by the John Innes Institute, an horticultural research body, currently based in Norwich, Norfolk. Many different manufactures in the UK make their own brands of JI Composts, supposedly to the JI recipes but these vary widely in quality and indeed in loam content.



 

[Gerry Webster]

David - I've only used 'Green Ore'  (once some years ago) but I remember it as being nice & loamy compared with most samples of JI.  I agree that, in comparison, J. Arthur Bowers seems lacking in loam. However, your sample  looks very different - & inferior - to the stuff I get under that name. I wonder if it varies from one part of the country to another?

[David Nicholson]

Gerry, my J Arthur Bowers was garden centre bought. They buy in very large quantities and display it a pallet at a time, so mine could well have been sitting under a mound of other bags for months. I usually have to rub it through a wide mesh sieve to get rid of the larger lumps. I normally buy at least 4 bags at a time to get a slightly better rate so mine has to sit in my garage until I begin to use it.

[Lesley Cox]

Add some sugar, eggs and spices and you'll have everything there that you need for a Christmas cake David.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thanks David, very interesting !
Pitty you don't live nearer the Channel - I might hop over to pick up some of that delightful stuff !

[Maggi Young]

Luc, I think you and Luc the Second need to get your own boat... then you could sail to all sorts of places near the coast to find interesting things ..... for instance....Aberdeen has a fine harbour 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

A suggestion that merits thorough consideration Maggi !! 

[David Nicholson]

Luc if I was an entrepreneur I would lease a van, buy a van load and sell it round the AGS and SRGC Shows. But then, if I was an entrepreneur I might have been an early retired Banker with a pension paid by the taxpayer!!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Selling decent JI compost would have made you a far more honest citizen than being a banker David... 

[David Nicholson]

 

[Gerry Webster]

Interesting that the makers of 'Green Ore' do not appear to belong to the John Innes Manufacturers Association.

[Lesley Cox]

Selling decent JI compost would have made you a far more honest citizen than being a banker David... 

He's not interested in honest, he wants RICH

[David Nicholson]

Filthy rich would do even better Lesley

Yes Gerry I noticed that. So much for the JI Manufacturer's Association.

[Yann]

Green Ore is closed, i'm looking for a new supplier. I've received sample of Growmoor but can't really test it due to the small quantity. Anyone is using substrat from this company?

[David Nicholson]

If only I could find some Yann. I'm just waiting from  a reply from them that might tell me where my nearest supplier is located. I suspect it is pretty good stuff and from the reading on their Web Site it contains peat so it is likely to be excellent stuff.


I'm just in the middle of a battle with the owners of the Levington brand of compost. I had bought a bag of their multi-purpose compost with added (in their words John Innes). I have never seen such rubbish. Obviously made from coir and very poor green waste. I gave up trying to put it through a sieve in order to add it to the John Innes Numbers two and three that I buy from a local independent nursery who make their own.